Review

Kaddisfly is a band that I have just recently gotten into due to some forced listening, and they’re really hard to talk about. They’re an extremely solid alternative band, but they have some pretty jazzy influences on some of their tracks, and at times progressive. It’s a real shame that they never really got any big signing offers, because they have a lot of talent. But they suffer from a lot of songs that sound alike and they are just too generic with it. The band also has a softer side, along with some of their heavy tracks, but I’ll get into that later. With Kaddisfly, you really get less than what meets the eye.

Some of the bands out there all share a single sound. We as people usually use the word “generic" to describe the above statement. Kaddisfly’s “Do You Know People Can Fly?" is extremely generic when it comes to its faster paced songs, but it’s a good kind of generic. They aren’t terrible, it’s really just music to me. They don’t bring anything new to the sound. There are no worries on the slower songs because when it gives you a relaxing track, it’s pure bliss. But there is one heavier song that I really like.

“Midnight In Shanghai" starts off pretty slow, but eventually picks up. The lyrics are a bit spiritual, but good nonetheless. The bass and drums also really entwine in this track. The rhythm is just so perfect. The vocals are a bit reminiscent of The Blood Brothers, which is kind of weird, but only noticeable in the middle of the song. Below are some of the lyrics from this track. The song eventually fades out in a pretty trippy guitar riff that echoes as silence fills the speakers. This is probably the best song on the album.

Midnight In Shanghai
I see sunsets solve quandaries only brought about by our bodies
I see infinite constraints only bound by their conception
I wonder if you have ever really seen a sunset
If you were to look deep you would see yourself
You would see the world as the earth breathes through you

If you really wanted an example of a poorly written song, take “Enemies Multiply Kisses" and “Vacation On An Invisible Plane". They sound exactly the same. I kid you not, they have the exact same qualities as one another. The same little pattern, pretty much the same guitar riff. I feel that both songs are total filler anyway, and that the album would benefit if only one of them, or even both just disappeared. This is where this album tends to fail in my book. It’s just too much of the same, and it kills because the musicians are so talented, and they have so much potential. But the lyrics? They are very good. I think that the lyricist deserves the bigger bed on the tour bus because his writing is incredible. Just take these lyrics from “Enemies Multiply Kisses".

Enemies Multiply Kisses
there has been a small cost on such
a big day walking on ground as one of us
living with peril and live's lost
saving all of us from acting just like us

Then comes the slower songs, which is this album’s saving grace. There’s one instrumental, which is just a total melody track (aside from the instrumental that sounds like the world is about to end “Unto Dark Hours, A Time Machine"). The song is called “Unabridged, En Masse". It is one of the most peaceful things I’ve ever heard. It has a pretty basic melody, but all of the instruments fit together perfectly. If it were not for these few tracks, the album would suck. I feel that these save this from being completely written off. Another thing that I really liked about the album was how all of the songs tied in together. A song ends on a certain note that the next track picks up on.

In conclusion, Kaddisfly are an alright band, they don’t really do much for their genre. They have some pretty cool songs, but the others just really… Well, they’re too average. I was expecting a lot after the first few tracks, but my disgust just grew as the album kept going. The instrumentals are amazing, and are worth checking out. I wouldn’t spend money on this album, I’d just pirate it. I’m forced to hand out my very rare rating of…